Where have you always dreamed of retiring? Is it on the beach or near the water? In the mountains? Or maybe to be nearby your family or grandchildren? Regardless of where you dream of retiring, you’ve worked hard all your life and want to spend your time doing the things you’ve always wanted to do. Here are some tips on how to make the best retirement investments and choosing the best retirement property.
If you’ve toyed with ideas on where to live but maybe you haven’t really done any research, this should be your first step. Make a list of your top five dream locations, your budget, and any other requirements pertinent to your decision before you begin doing your homework.
- Land or Condo. If you haven’t already, you should also contemplate on whether you want to purchase a piece of property or condo. For those homeowners who have owned and maintained a piece of property for most of their working lives, maybe a condo is a better option since most of the property maintenance is taken care of for you, and which is included in condo fees.There are also retirement properties that you can rent, if you want the best of both worlds. The only downside to this is renting isn’t exactly an investment.
- Location. Like any other type of business transaction or investment, it’s all about location, location, location. Choosing a piece of land or condo can certainly go hand in hand with selecting a location. Like choosing any piece of property, whether it’s a retirement investment or not, it’s important to look at the market value for other properties in the area and get a feel for the community as a whole.Since most people spend a great deal of time thinking and dreaming about their retirement during their working lives, most have their heart set on a particular location or community they want to be involved in. All in all, this is usually the easiest to choose.
- Income. For those homeowners who do not wish to sell their primary property but who are looking into purchasing an additional retirement property, you can utilize your primary property for supplemental rental income. This will give you supplemental income in addition to whatever investment retirement accounts you may have set up or put away during your working years.While supplemental income sounds nice to everyone, renting your property certainly doesn’t come without its headaches. It can be time consuming and costly to find trustworthy tenants to rent to. You would also need to decide if you want to rent your property furnished or unfurnished. If you rent your property furnished, do you trust your tenants to not ruin your belongings? In addition, if you decide to move farther away from your primary residence, you should consider having someone close by who is readily available in the event of any emergencies (a fire, or any plumbing or electrical issues).
Finally, there are many things to consider when deciding on a retirement property, or in regards to retirement in general. It is a time of life, “the golden years”, that everyone looks forward to but can take quite a bit of research, planning, and investing. This is one reason why choosing the best retirement property and option is crucial.